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The Plant Phenology Monitoring Design for the National Ecological Observatory NetworkPhenology is an integrative science that comprises the study of recurring biological activities or events. In an era of rapidly changing climate, the relationship between the timing of those events and environmental cues such as temperature, snowmelt, water availability, or day length are of particular interest. This article provides an overview of the observer-based plant phenology sampling conducted by the U.S. National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the resulting data, and the rationale behind the design. Trained technicians will conduct regular in situ observations of plant phenology at all terrestrial NEON sites for the 30-yr life of the observatory. Standardized and coordinated data across the network of sites can be used to quantify the direction and magnitude of the relationships between phenology and environmental forcings, as well as the degree to which these relationships vary among sites, among species, among phenophases, and through time. Vegetation at NEON sites will also be monitored with tower-based cameras, satellite remote sensing, and annual high-resolution airborne remote sensing. Ground-based measurements can be used to calibrate and improve satellite-derived phenometrics. NEON's phenology monitoring design is complementary to existing phenology research efforts and citizen science initiatives throughout the world and will produce interoperable data. By collocating plant phenology observations with a suite of additional meteorological, biophysical, and ecological measurements (e.g., climate, carbon flux, plant productivity, population dynamics of consumers) at 47 terrestrial sites, the NEON design will enable continental-scale inference about the status, trends, causes, and ecological consequences of phenological change.
Document ID
20160006712
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Elmendorf, Sarah C.
(National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Boulder, CO, United States)
Jones, Katherine D.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Cook, Benjamin I.
(NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY, United States)
Diez, Jeffrey M.
(California Univ. Riverside, CA, United States)
Enquist, Carolyn A. F.
(USA National Phenology Network Tucson, AZ, United States)
Hufft, Rebecca A.
(Denver Botanic Gardens Denver, CO, United States)
Jones, Matthew O.
(Oregon State Univ. Corvallis, OR, United States)
Mazer, Susan J.
(California Univ. Santa Barbara, CA, United States)
Miller-Rushing, Abraham J.
(National Park Service Bar Harbor, ME, United States)
Moore, David J. P.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Schwartz, Mark D.
(Wisconsin Univ. Milwaukee, WI, United States)
Weltzin, Jake F.
(Geological Survey Tucson, AZ, United States)
Date Acquired
May 31, 2016
Publication Date
April 25, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Ecosphere
Publisher: Ecological Society of America
Volume: 7
Issue: 4
e-ISSN: 2150-8925
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN32063
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
phenology
observatories
snow cover
satellite observation
cues
neon
climate

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